Notes: Thanx to Chaos for the Yami Bakura idea. LOL XD
Ishizu, walking down a hall with Rishid, suddenly stopped and narrowed her eyes, touching the Millennium Tauk grimly. "Marik . . . you must get out, brother! You must!" she screamed, going pale.
Rishid turned to look at her. He, also, had sensed trouble and was fearful for their brother's safety. "Where is he, Ishizu?" he pleaded to know. "Are you having a vision?!"
Ishizu nodded apprehensively. "Marik is . . . he is laying unconscious on a piece of debris from a fallen aircraft!" She ran to the window and looked out.
"Is he nearby?!" Rishid asked, panic growing.
"I do not know," Ishizu replied, tears pricking her eyes. "The Tauk did not show that to me. Come. We must find out if any airplanes have crashed in the vicinity."
Rishid didn't bother to wonder what Marik had been doing on an airplane. There would be time for that later. Right now they just had to find him . . . alive.
"Also," Ishizu continued as they rounded a corner, "we must pray."
"Yes," Rishid agreed solemnly, worry for his precious brother building, "we must."
****
While the older Ishtar siblings were looking for information on airplanes, Bakura was feeling about like sitting down and crying. Nothing was going right on this radio show he was trying so desperately to pull off. Oreo was begging for the pizza Yami Bakura had sent out for, the thief was doing a mystery quiz and threatening to steal people's souls if they gave the wrong answer, and the callers, undaunted, continued to call in.
As Seto Kaiba had predicted, Bakura had been shocked, but happy, when Joey's fake broadcast had cut in on everything. Oh if only Bruce would let Joey do the show! the boy wailed to himself.
In the background, Yami Bakura was laughing wickedly as he spoke with another caller. "No, you moron, silver Duracell batteries are not what defeats werewolves, and if you call up again with such unexcusable nonsense, your soul will be taken!" With that he hung up and grinned into the microphone. "Next?"
Oreo yowled, forcing the pizza box open with her paw and stealing a slice. Bakura just gave her a bleak look as he slumped down into the chair.
****
Marik moaned softly, moving his hand across the flat surface as he again regained consciousness. It was a more painful awakening this time, as the boy soon discovered. "Where am I?" he managed to say aloud, rolling off what he then realized was a plane wing and falling into the grass. He let out a cry of surprise and pain and then stared up at the dark sky, his breathing labored.
He remembered being in the plane . . . and he remembered it crashing into a tree, severing a wing. After that he remembered no more.
Slowly the Egyptian boy struggled to get into a sitting position, wincing at the pain. He glanced around at the wreckage from the aircraft, chills going up his spine. "I shouldn't even be alive," he murmured, feeling a rush of dizziness and laying down again.
Off in the distance he could see the pilot, the one who had kidnapped him—and the one who had his Millennium Rod. Through his clouded mind, Marik wondered if the man was still alive and if he would be able to get any information from him if he was. Gritting his teeth, the boy again forced himself to sit and then stand, limping over to where the pilot was sprawled on another piece of the plane, which had seemed to have broken in pieces. The Rod lay near him and Marik snatched it up as he stumbled over. After placing it in his belt, the Egyptian examined the man for any signs of life and found none. The pilot's neck was broken and he was obviously dead. Marik would learn nothing from him.
Suddenly becoming frightfully aware of a sizzling sound, the boy only barely had enough time to leap out of the way as the plane's remnants caught fire and exploded. Marik was thrown back several feet, having had no chance to rescue his abductor's body before everything had ignited.
Now the Egyptian lay on his side in the grass, staring dazedly at the flames. I have to get up again, he told himself. I have to get up . . . the grass will catch on fire . . . I will die if I don't move. . . .
Becoming increasingly aware of his badly bruised leg, the pain aroused Marik to his full senses and he dove for cover as the fire began spreading over the dry, parched grass. If he only knew where he was . . .! Was he still near Domino City? Could he be in the canyons beyond the town? Or was he somewhere far away, in another state, even?
He rubbed at his eyes and tried to recall any possible clues to his location. Surely if they'd been flying for a long time, the airplane's sabotage would have kicked in even sooner. But not necessarily. He had been unconscious when he was forced into the craft, so he truly had no way of knowing what had happened. Depending on what had been done to the plane, it might not have kicked in until after they would have been airborne for some time.
But then again . . .
Marik struggled to recall the pilot's own words about the disaster. "Someone's tampered with the engine!" he remembered the man yelling. Surely engine damage would have come to light almost immediately. He must be in the canyons near Domino City. That would only make sense.
"What would also make sense is getting out of here alive," the boy muttered with sarcasm, trying to pick his way down a steep incline he found he was by. Due to the spreading flames, that was the only way he could travel.
He coughed, the smoke starting to get to him. "Only a bit more now," he observed, dropping the rest of the way to the bottom and limping as he tried to continue his journey. Somehow he would get back to Ishizu and Rishid. Somehow he would!
****
Ishizu gazed at JP in worry. "You say there have been a couple of plane crashes reported in the past hour?" she exclaimed, trying to control her fear but being almost unable to.
"That's right," JP said slowly. "One was into the Pacific Ocean and the other was in . . ." Quickly he checked the report that he'd just received. "The other was in the canyons," he finished.
Rishid took the report and looked it over intently. "Could Marik have been in the one in the water?" he whispered.
"In my vision . . . I could not tell," Ishizu replied quietly.
"Hey guys . . . what's up?"
They turned to see Yugi, Tristan, and Téa standing in the doorway, looking worried.
"Marik . . . I have had a vision about him," Ishizu answered Yugi's question.
"Where is he, anyway?" Tristan asked, blinking.
Ishizu didn't reply to that.
JP continued to look the report over. "There's a big fire in the canyons," he said slowly. "It started when . . . when the airplane exploded."
Ishizu covered her mouth with her hand in pure horror. "No . . . Marik would have gotten out," she tried to reassure herself and Rishid. "If he was there, he would have gotten out . . ."
"Gotten out?!" Téa burst out in shock. "He was in that?!"
"But he was just here a while ago!" Tristan cried in disbelief. "How'd he get on an airplane?!"
"Perhaps the airplane was here," Ishizu replied quietly, remembering hearing a strange sound a while back that had actually sounded like a very small plane's engine.
Phil Court passed by them then, his eyes narrowed. "You kids are still here?" he growled, obviously ignoring Ishizu and Rishid, who were very much adults.
"Hey, they have a perfect right to be," JP said with a frown. "I invited them."
Phil's expression didn't lighten. "You're probably telling them more lies about Lila."
"Maybe you can tell us where our buddy Marik is," Tristan snapped.
"Marik?" Phil continued to glare. "I dunno you kids by name, and I'm perfectly content to keep it that way."
Rishid looked at Ishizu, unsure of what they should do. Ishizu looked back, tears in her eyes. She didn't know any better than Rishid. At last she turned slightly, heading for the door. "We shall journey to the canyons," she declared. "Mr. Court will not tell us anything, so we might as well not waste our time with him. And now I feel that our brother may be in the canyons somewhere."
****
Seto had found his way to the basement by this time and was examining the same blood that Marik had found earlier. Only now there was more of it. Of course Seto didn't realize this, however.
"That's disgusting!" Mokuba cried.
Seto grunted. "I intend to find out why it's on KaibaCorp property," he muttered, suddenly noticing a large piece of fur.
Mokuba noticed it too. "Seto! It looks like there really was a weird dog in here!"
A growling sound met their ears and Seto didn't look at all pleased. "And it sounds as though it's still here," he said in irritation. "Mokuba, head for the stairs. Now."
"What?!" Mokuba cried in disbelief. "I'm not leaving here unless you are, big brother!"
"Go!!" Seto yelled as the dog charged. Frantically he tried to block Mokuba from the creature's teeth and claws. He winced as he felt the dog slash into his shoulder.
"SETO!!!" Mokuba screamed in horror, throwing a big piece of Styrofoam at the rabid beast. "Stay away from my brother, you mangy mutt!!"
The dog growled as the Styrofoam bounced off its head and then prepared to charge again. Before it could, it suddenly howled and fell to the floor, laying still.
Seto relaxed, staring upward and seeing an animal control officer standing in the top of the stairs. "It seems you came just in time," the boy said, straightening up and ignoring the wounds in his shoulder.
"We just got an anonymous call about this beast," the officer replied, walking over to them. "And you should have that shoulder looked at."
"I'm fine," Seto said coldly. "I just want to know how this thing got in here. And why."
"So would we," replied the officer.
****
Marik moaned, tripping over a rock in his path and falling for the umpteenth time. He was dizzy and tired and his leg pained him so badly. He doubted that he'd gone very far, even though it felt like several miles. Above him the fire raged while an ever-growing crew tried to put it out.
"Ohh . . . I have to move again," Marik told himself, trying to get up. "Somehow . . ."
His mind was still confused and muddled, but he still did wonder what had happened to him and why. What the point in abducting him that way? The pilot had seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Marik was fairly certain that it had nothing to do with "knowing too much," as he knew absolutely nothing at all about what was going on at the station. No, they had wanted him for some other reason.
"I have to stand," Marik told himself again. "No matter how hurt I am . . . I have to stand up. . . ." Growling, he forced himself upright and leaned against a tree, shaking as he did so. "How did I even survive that crash?" he whispered. "How did I?"
"Hey!"
Marik looked up as Joey's unmistakable voice came through the trees.
"There's Marik!!" Joey yelled.
"Where?!" Téa demanded. "Is he alright?!"
Marik placed a hand to his forehead. He was dizzy . . . oh so very dizzy. . . . Standing up, perhaps, hadn't been the best idea. The weakness, the pain, the darkness . . . it was all washing over him now, now that he knew someone had seen him and would come for him. Now he could just relax . . . just succumb to the emptiness. . . .
"Man, I don't think so!" Joey exclaimed. "He looks like he's passing out!"
****
Quickly the others surrounded Marik's poor body, casting worried eyes upon the worn-out Egyptian teen sprawled on a bed of autumn leaves.
"Marik!! Hey, Marik, can you hear us?!" Joey asked, kneeling down and shaking him gently. I wish Ishizu and Rishid would find us, he added silently. They had split into two groups upon arriving at the canyon, and Ishizu and Rishid were both in the other one, along with Yugi and Tristan.
Marik, who was deeply unconscious by this time, couldn't answer his friend.
"Well, he did survive a plane crash," Téa said pointedly. "It's natural that he'd be hurt from it."
Seto grunted. "I suppose it's a good thing I thought ahead enough to bring one of my doctors." He had actually done so at Mokuba's pleading request. Heaven knows Seto couldn't say no to his little brother, especially when the kid was so worried about his friend.
Mokuba's eyes filled with tears. "Marik?" he said quaveringly. "Marik, come on! Get up . . . please. . . ." He had seen Marik slump to the ground a few short minutes before and had been horrified, unable to bear seeing someone so special to him in such pain. He breathed a prayer of thanks that Seto hadn't been hurt that badly as well.
The doctor knelt down and gently examined Marik, wanting to do so now and not move him. "No broken bones," he reported after an endless moment, shaking his head. "He's been bruised pretty badly, though, and he has a nasty bump on his head." The bump had originally been from when the unknown assailant had hit Marik viciously in the field, but later on the poor boy had been hit again in the same spot. "The whole thing must have been a horrible shock to his system."
"But he's gonna get better, right?" Mokuba pleaded, hugging Marik tearfully. "He's gotta get better!!"
The doctor smiled kindly. "I have no doubt that he will. I just hope his siblings come soon. . . ." He glanced about, as if expecting to see them.
"Maybe they got in some kind of trouble," Téa worried.
****
Unfortunately, Téa was right. The canyons were not a good place to be wandering after night, and especially not in this particular Halloween season.
"I think I heard something in those bushes!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Yeah," Tristan said grimly, "I did too."
"Marik?" Ishizu called hopefully.
"Brother, where are you?" Rishid added his own cry, praying that his brother was not badly injured . . . or worse. The firefighters had said there were no human remains that they had found so far in the wreckage, and that Marik might have gotten away—which was, of course, what those who loved him were praying for.
A ghastly hand now rose up from the ground in front of them and they all jumped in astonishment.
"Leave this place," a vile voice hissed. "Leave or you shall all suffer the fate of the plane's pilot and his passenger!"
Ishizu, walking down a hall with Rishid, suddenly stopped and narrowed her eyes, touching the Millennium Tauk grimly. "Marik . . . you must get out, brother! You must!" she screamed, going pale.
Rishid turned to look at her. He, also, had sensed trouble and was fearful for their brother's safety. "Where is he, Ishizu?" he pleaded to know. "Are you having a vision?!"
Ishizu nodded apprehensively. "Marik is . . . he is laying unconscious on a piece of debris from a fallen aircraft!" She ran to the window and looked out.
"Is he nearby?!" Rishid asked, panic growing.
"I do not know," Ishizu replied, tears pricking her eyes. "The Tauk did not show that to me. Come. We must find out if any airplanes have crashed in the vicinity."
Rishid didn't bother to wonder what Marik had been doing on an airplane. There would be time for that later. Right now they just had to find him . . . alive.
"Also," Ishizu continued as they rounded a corner, "we must pray."
"Yes," Rishid agreed solemnly, worry for his precious brother building, "we must."
****
While the older Ishtar siblings were looking for information on airplanes, Bakura was feeling about like sitting down and crying. Nothing was going right on this radio show he was trying so desperately to pull off. Oreo was begging for the pizza Yami Bakura had sent out for, the thief was doing a mystery quiz and threatening to steal people's souls if they gave the wrong answer, and the callers, undaunted, continued to call in.
As Seto Kaiba had predicted, Bakura had been shocked, but happy, when Joey's fake broadcast had cut in on everything. Oh if only Bruce would let Joey do the show! the boy wailed to himself.
In the background, Yami Bakura was laughing wickedly as he spoke with another caller. "No, you moron, silver Duracell batteries are not what defeats werewolves, and if you call up again with such unexcusable nonsense, your soul will be taken!" With that he hung up and grinned into the microphone. "Next?"
Oreo yowled, forcing the pizza box open with her paw and stealing a slice. Bakura just gave her a bleak look as he slumped down into the chair.
****
Marik moaned softly, moving his hand across the flat surface as he again regained consciousness. It was a more painful awakening this time, as the boy soon discovered. "Where am I?" he managed to say aloud, rolling off what he then realized was a plane wing and falling into the grass. He let out a cry of surprise and pain and then stared up at the dark sky, his breathing labored.
He remembered being in the plane . . . and he remembered it crashing into a tree, severing a wing. After that he remembered no more.
Slowly the Egyptian boy struggled to get into a sitting position, wincing at the pain. He glanced around at the wreckage from the aircraft, chills going up his spine. "I shouldn't even be alive," he murmured, feeling a rush of dizziness and laying down again.
Off in the distance he could see the pilot, the one who had kidnapped him—and the one who had his Millennium Rod. Through his clouded mind, Marik wondered if the man was still alive and if he would be able to get any information from him if he was. Gritting his teeth, the boy again forced himself to sit and then stand, limping over to where the pilot was sprawled on another piece of the plane, which had seemed to have broken in pieces. The Rod lay near him and Marik snatched it up as he stumbled over. After placing it in his belt, the Egyptian examined the man for any signs of life and found none. The pilot's neck was broken and he was obviously dead. Marik would learn nothing from him.
Suddenly becoming frightfully aware of a sizzling sound, the boy only barely had enough time to leap out of the way as the plane's remnants caught fire and exploded. Marik was thrown back several feet, having had no chance to rescue his abductor's body before everything had ignited.
Now the Egyptian lay on his side in the grass, staring dazedly at the flames. I have to get up again, he told himself. I have to get up . . . the grass will catch on fire . . . I will die if I don't move. . . .
Becoming increasingly aware of his badly bruised leg, the pain aroused Marik to his full senses and he dove for cover as the fire began spreading over the dry, parched grass. If he only knew where he was . . .! Was he still near Domino City? Could he be in the canyons beyond the town? Or was he somewhere far away, in another state, even?
He rubbed at his eyes and tried to recall any possible clues to his location. Surely if they'd been flying for a long time, the airplane's sabotage would have kicked in even sooner. But not necessarily. He had been unconscious when he was forced into the craft, so he truly had no way of knowing what had happened. Depending on what had been done to the plane, it might not have kicked in until after they would have been airborne for some time.
But then again . . .
Marik struggled to recall the pilot's own words about the disaster. "Someone's tampered with the engine!" he remembered the man yelling. Surely engine damage would have come to light almost immediately. He must be in the canyons near Domino City. That would only make sense.
"What would also make sense is getting out of here alive," the boy muttered with sarcasm, trying to pick his way down a steep incline he found he was by. Due to the spreading flames, that was the only way he could travel.
He coughed, the smoke starting to get to him. "Only a bit more now," he observed, dropping the rest of the way to the bottom and limping as he tried to continue his journey. Somehow he would get back to Ishizu and Rishid. Somehow he would!
****
Ishizu gazed at JP in worry. "You say there have been a couple of plane crashes reported in the past hour?" she exclaimed, trying to control her fear but being almost unable to.
"That's right," JP said slowly. "One was into the Pacific Ocean and the other was in . . ." Quickly he checked the report that he'd just received. "The other was in the canyons," he finished.
Rishid took the report and looked it over intently. "Could Marik have been in the one in the water?" he whispered.
"In my vision . . . I could not tell," Ishizu replied quietly.
"Hey guys . . . what's up?"
They turned to see Yugi, Tristan, and Téa standing in the doorway, looking worried.
"Marik . . . I have had a vision about him," Ishizu answered Yugi's question.
"Where is he, anyway?" Tristan asked, blinking.
Ishizu didn't reply to that.
JP continued to look the report over. "There's a big fire in the canyons," he said slowly. "It started when . . . when the airplane exploded."
Ishizu covered her mouth with her hand in pure horror. "No . . . Marik would have gotten out," she tried to reassure herself and Rishid. "If he was there, he would have gotten out . . ."
"Gotten out?!" Téa burst out in shock. "He was in that?!"
"But he was just here a while ago!" Tristan cried in disbelief. "How'd he get on an airplane?!"
"Perhaps the airplane was here," Ishizu replied quietly, remembering hearing a strange sound a while back that had actually sounded like a very small plane's engine.
Phil Court passed by them then, his eyes narrowed. "You kids are still here?" he growled, obviously ignoring Ishizu and Rishid, who were very much adults.
"Hey, they have a perfect right to be," JP said with a frown. "I invited them."
Phil's expression didn't lighten. "You're probably telling them more lies about Lila."
"Maybe you can tell us where our buddy Marik is," Tristan snapped.
"Marik?" Phil continued to glare. "I dunno you kids by name, and I'm perfectly content to keep it that way."
Rishid looked at Ishizu, unsure of what they should do. Ishizu looked back, tears in her eyes. She didn't know any better than Rishid. At last she turned slightly, heading for the door. "We shall journey to the canyons," she declared. "Mr. Court will not tell us anything, so we might as well not waste our time with him. And now I feel that our brother may be in the canyons somewhere."
****
Seto had found his way to the basement by this time and was examining the same blood that Marik had found earlier. Only now there was more of it. Of course Seto didn't realize this, however.
"That's disgusting!" Mokuba cried.
Seto grunted. "I intend to find out why it's on KaibaCorp property," he muttered, suddenly noticing a large piece of fur.
Mokuba noticed it too. "Seto! It looks like there really was a weird dog in here!"
A growling sound met their ears and Seto didn't look at all pleased. "And it sounds as though it's still here," he said in irritation. "Mokuba, head for the stairs. Now."
"What?!" Mokuba cried in disbelief. "I'm not leaving here unless you are, big brother!"
"Go!!" Seto yelled as the dog charged. Frantically he tried to block Mokuba from the creature's teeth and claws. He winced as he felt the dog slash into his shoulder.
"SETO!!!" Mokuba screamed in horror, throwing a big piece of Styrofoam at the rabid beast. "Stay away from my brother, you mangy mutt!!"
The dog growled as the Styrofoam bounced off its head and then prepared to charge again. Before it could, it suddenly howled and fell to the floor, laying still.
Seto relaxed, staring upward and seeing an animal control officer standing in the top of the stairs. "It seems you came just in time," the boy said, straightening up and ignoring the wounds in his shoulder.
"We just got an anonymous call about this beast," the officer replied, walking over to them. "And you should have that shoulder looked at."
"I'm fine," Seto said coldly. "I just want to know how this thing got in here. And why."
"So would we," replied the officer.
****
Marik moaned, tripping over a rock in his path and falling for the umpteenth time. He was dizzy and tired and his leg pained him so badly. He doubted that he'd gone very far, even though it felt like several miles. Above him the fire raged while an ever-growing crew tried to put it out.
"Ohh . . . I have to move again," Marik told himself, trying to get up. "Somehow . . ."
His mind was still confused and muddled, but he still did wonder what had happened to him and why. What the point in abducting him that way? The pilot had seemed to know exactly what he was doing. Marik was fairly certain that it had nothing to do with "knowing too much," as he knew absolutely nothing at all about what was going on at the station. No, they had wanted him for some other reason.
"I have to stand," Marik told himself again. "No matter how hurt I am . . . I have to stand up. . . ." Growling, he forced himself upright and leaned against a tree, shaking as he did so. "How did I even survive that crash?" he whispered. "How did I?"
"Hey!"
Marik looked up as Joey's unmistakable voice came through the trees.
"There's Marik!!" Joey yelled.
"Where?!" Téa demanded. "Is he alright?!"
Marik placed a hand to his forehead. He was dizzy . . . oh so very dizzy. . . . Standing up, perhaps, hadn't been the best idea. The weakness, the pain, the darkness . . . it was all washing over him now, now that he knew someone had seen him and would come for him. Now he could just relax . . . just succumb to the emptiness. . . .
"Man, I don't think so!" Joey exclaimed. "He looks like he's passing out!"
****
Quickly the others surrounded Marik's poor body, casting worried eyes upon the worn-out Egyptian teen sprawled on a bed of autumn leaves.
"Marik!! Hey, Marik, can you hear us?!" Joey asked, kneeling down and shaking him gently. I wish Ishizu and Rishid would find us, he added silently. They had split into two groups upon arriving at the canyon, and Ishizu and Rishid were both in the other one, along with Yugi and Tristan.
Marik, who was deeply unconscious by this time, couldn't answer his friend.
"Well, he did survive a plane crash," Téa said pointedly. "It's natural that he'd be hurt from it."
Seto grunted. "I suppose it's a good thing I thought ahead enough to bring one of my doctors." He had actually done so at Mokuba's pleading request. Heaven knows Seto couldn't say no to his little brother, especially when the kid was so worried about his friend.
Mokuba's eyes filled with tears. "Marik?" he said quaveringly. "Marik, come on! Get up . . . please. . . ." He had seen Marik slump to the ground a few short minutes before and had been horrified, unable to bear seeing someone so special to him in such pain. He breathed a prayer of thanks that Seto hadn't been hurt that badly as well.
The doctor knelt down and gently examined Marik, wanting to do so now and not move him. "No broken bones," he reported after an endless moment, shaking his head. "He's been bruised pretty badly, though, and he has a nasty bump on his head." The bump had originally been from when the unknown assailant had hit Marik viciously in the field, but later on the poor boy had been hit again in the same spot. "The whole thing must have been a horrible shock to his system."
"But he's gonna get better, right?" Mokuba pleaded, hugging Marik tearfully. "He's gotta get better!!"
The doctor smiled kindly. "I have no doubt that he will. I just hope his siblings come soon. . . ." He glanced about, as if expecting to see them.
"Maybe they got in some kind of trouble," Téa worried.
****
Unfortunately, Téa was right. The canyons were not a good place to be wandering after night, and especially not in this particular Halloween season.
"I think I heard something in those bushes!" Yugi exclaimed.
"Yeah," Tristan said grimly, "I did too."
"Marik?" Ishizu called hopefully.
"Brother, where are you?" Rishid added his own cry, praying that his brother was not badly injured . . . or worse. The firefighters had said there were no human remains that they had found so far in the wreckage, and that Marik might have gotten away—which was, of course, what those who loved him were praying for.
A ghastly hand now rose up from the ground in front of them and they all jumped in astonishment.
"Leave this place," a vile voice hissed. "Leave or you shall all suffer the fate of the plane's pilot and his passenger!"